46 U.S.C. § 55305 — Cargoes procured, furnished, or financed by the United States Government

This section covers cargo that the United States Government buys, supplies, or pays for, and requires much of it to travel on privately-owned American ships. (a) Minimum Tonnage. When the Government buys, contracts for, or gets equipment, materials, or commodities for itself; or gives them to a foreign country, group, or person without asking for repayment; or pays for them with federal funds; or advances money or guarantees currency exchange connected to getting those goods — the agencies involved must try to make sure that at least 50 percent of the tonnage that goes by ocean ship travels on privately-owned U.S. commercial vessels. This 50 percent is figured separately for three kinds of ships: dry bulk carriers, dry cargo liners, and tankers. This only applies when qualifying U.S. vessels are available at fair and reasonable rates, and agencies must try to spread this cargo fairly among U.S. ships from different geographic areas. (b) Eligible Vessels. To carry this cargo, a privately-owned U.S. commercial vessel must be documented (registered) under U.S. law. It qualifies if it has been documented for at least three years. Starting after January 1, 2030, a vessel documented for less than three years can still qualify if its owner signs an agreement with the Secretary of Transportation promising that: (A) the vessel will stay documented under U.S. law for at least three years; and (B) the owner will, if the Secretary asks, enroll the vessel in an emergency preparedness agreement under the Defense Production Act and keep it enrolled until the vessel stops being U.S.-documented. (c) Violation of Agreement. If an owner who signed one of these agreements breaks it — by placing the vessel under a foreign country's registry, or by letting someone operate it under a foreign country's authority — the government can seize the vessel and take permanent ownership of it (forfeiture). (d) Waivers. (1) The President, the Secretary of Defense, or the Secretary of Transportation can declare an emergency and temporarily waive this section's requirements (or the similar requirements in section 55314). This can only happen after the Maritime Administrator determines that enough qualified U.S.-flag ships are not available at fair rates. No other kind of waiver is allowed. (2) A waiver normally lasts no more than 60 days. The Maritime Administrator can extend it once, by up to 30 more days, if the same shortage still exists. But all waivers and extensions covering one emergency together cannot total more than three months in one fiscal year. (3) For each waiver decision, the Maritime Administrator must: identify steps that could fix the ship shortage; tell the Secretary of Transportation (and the President or Secretary of Defense, if they were involved); and publish the decision on the Maritime Administration's website within 24 hours and in the Federal Register. (4) The Maritime Administrator must also notify specific congressional committees — within 72 hours of a waiver request, and again within 72 hours of actually issuing a waiver — explaining why it was needed. Which committees get notified depends on whether the Secretary of Transportation or the Secretary of Defense asked for the waiver. (e) Programs of Other Agencies. (1) Each federal department or agency that runs a program covered by this section must follow rules and guidance from the Secretary of Transportation. Only the Secretary decides whether a given program is covered. (2) The Secretary must: review how these programs are being run each year and report to Congress; may order agencies to ship an equal amount of other cargo on U.S.-flag vessels to make up for cargo that was wrongly shipped on foreign ships; may fine anyone who knowingly and willfully violates this section up to $25,000 per violation, with each day of an ongoing violation counting separately; and may take other steps allowed under federal contracting rules. (f) Security of Government-Impelled Cargo. (1) To keep ships and crews safe, the Secretary of Transportation must direct other agencies (except the Department of Defense) to reimburse U.S. vessel owners — if money is available — for the cost of putting armed personnel aboard ships that must sail through high-risk waters. (2) "High-risk waters" means waters the Coast Guard has officially labeled dangerous, where the Secretary of Transportation has determined that a piracy incident happened in the past 12 months, or that a piracy warning was issued during that time.